The book, The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross chronicles the 500 year history of Blacks in America from the arrival of the first black man, Conquistador Juan Garrido who set foot on the Florida coast in 1513 to the present and the second term of Barack Obama, the first African American President of the United States. It is the companion book to the PBS Documentary of the same name and both complements and expands on the history presented there.

Co-authors Henry Louis Gates Jr and Donald Yacavone give a fascinating and detailed overview of this long, tumultuous, tragic, and very important part of American history. With the use of both secondary and primary sources such as newspapers, letters, and journals, it tells the stories both of black communal history and that of individuals in their own voices, many well-known, but many lost to history until now. It discusses the horrors of slavery, the injustices of Jim Crow, and the terrible rise of the KKK and the spread of lynchings not only throughout the south but in the north right up until the middle of the 20th century. It also discusses the Harlem Renaissance, the Civil Rights Movement, the signing of the Civil Rights Act, and finally the election of the first black President. It avoids apportioning blame or creating victims but it never flinches from the worst of the abuses of discrimination and its devastating effects not only in the past but in the present. It makes it clear that the United State’s unprecedented level of affluence was achieved to a very great extent at the expense and on the backs of black people. It shows how poorly African Americans have been portrayed in American culture in the past but it also shows how much African Americans have influenced and contributed to American culture from music to dance to literature as well as in the sciences.

It also contains dozens of beautiful illustrations both in black and white and in colour. As well, there is a list of resources for anyone who would like to learn more about African American history. It is a great complement to the documentary but it is also a great read on its own and it is history that needs to be read. That the authors have made it so readable and so accessible is also a real bonus.

The history of black people in America is not an easy one. It is a history of sorrow and tragedy but also of struggle and achievement, of terrible injustices and great heroes, and of a slow march to freedom that has taken centuries and, as this book shows clearly, there are still more rivers to cross before it’s over. Obviously, a history that covers so much cannot be contained in one book. However, The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross does a marvelous job of presenting an overview of one of the most important parts of American history, one that has too long been ignored. It is well-documented, well-researched and well-written. It is also presented in a clear and cogent manner and, unlike many history texts, it avoids the pedantic and the dry. It makes the history come to life and gives it a voice we all should hear. ( )

Signed copy on hand! Iconic man. Mr. Gates is a researching machine. Detailed book with information for days and a life time. ( )